Scientific Research Overview. Rolfe A. Leary 1

Transcription

1 Scientific Research Overview Rolfe A. Leary 1

2 1. The world of the scientist 2. The scientific research cycle i.e., general method of science 3. Kinds, goals, aims 4. Phases, tactics, modes of advance 2

3 1a. World of the scientist Constructs Reality Plane of perception [after Margenau 1950] 3

4 1b. As a research scientist: C (Your constructs) R (Your bit of reality) Plane of perception 4

5 1c. Biological science example Size Time Growth Relative growth Reality (biological organism or population) Plane of perception 5

6 1d. Biological science example: Size Time Growth Relative growth Relative growth Growth Size Time Reality Plane of perception 6

7 2. The research cycle Bunge, M Philosophy of Science: From problem to theory. Transaction, pg 11. 7

8 2. The research cycle Ask well-formulated and likely fruitful questions. Devise [scientific] hypotheses both grounded and testable, to answer the questions Derive testable consequences of hypotheses + assumptions. Design techniques to test the [consequences]. Test the techniques for relevance and reliability. Execute the tests and interpret their results. Evaluate the truth claims of assumptions and fidelity of techniques. 8

9 1. The world of the scientist 2. The scientific research cycle i.e., general method of science 3. Scientific Research a) kinds, b) goals, c) aims 9

10 3a. Kinds of research arbiter 1. How soon can results be put to use? value & type of research a) Later basic b) Sooner applied 2. Who uses the results? a) Other scientists basic b) Technologists applied 3. To what do the constructs refer? 4. How close are the constructs to the plane of perception? 5. What is the unknown? a) Real things factual b) Ideas formal a) Close empirical b) Far theoretical a) What is the character of? What if? Why? substantive b) How to? procedural 10

11 3b. Goals of Scientific Research i) Substantive statements about nature 1. What is the character of? Description 2. What if? Prediction 3. Why? Explanation 11

12 ii) Procedural techniques or methods Improve an old method. Make it more efficient and effective Develop a new way of doing something Ince, P Risk analysis. USDA Forest Service. 12

13 iii) Importance of pattern Scientific research is, in short, the search for pattern (M. Bunge 1998) 13

14 But, what is pattern?.. repeated form? 14

15 What is pattern?.oops -- must be regularly repeated form.. One could argue: ALL the regularly repeated forms near the plane of perception have been observed by others and reported on. 15

16 Classical regularly repeated forms: 16

17 3c. Change vs. no change? "most things and relationships change. (from place to place or time to time) Those things and relationships that don't change are either uninteresting or very interesting". 17

18 3d. Invariance vs. Symmetry Invariant -- An aspect of a relationship that does not change. Symmetry is a special kind of invariance 18

19 3e. Invariance vs. Sensitivity Fractal objects have scale invariance Extreme sensitivity to initial conditions Discovery by Edward Lorenz led to Chaos Theory - - almost the antithesis of invariance. 19

20 3f. Goal of substantive research -- Answer questions of increasing difficulty with Statements of increasing generality 20

21 ral,

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24 Scientific Research Overview 1.The World of the scientist 2.Research cycle 3.Kinds, goals, aims 4.Tactics, phases, modes of advance 24

25 4. Tactics (1) Find the ground The "ground" is the body of knowledge that surrounds the question of interest. There must be ground for your question to be well-founded. Otherwise it is stray, and probably unscientific. 25

26 One finds the ground from the literature: 1. No literature, no ground! 2. No ground, no science! 26

27 4. Tactics (2) Be Pacmanish Begin by asking clear-cut and restricted questions Adopt a piecemeal approach. 27

28 4. Tactics (3) Try to falsify rather than corroborate Use exhaustive binary tree questioning also known as strong inference. 28

29 4. Tactics (3) Try to falsify rather than corroborate Use exhaustive binary tree questioning also known as strong inference. Devise crucial experiments 29

30 4. Tactics (4) Iterate toward the answer as a root finding algorithm finds zeroes of a nonlinear equation Interval halving Newton Raphson 30

31 5. Phases of scientific research Richenbach (1938) is generally credited with articulating the two phases of research: Discovery Justification 31

32 5. Phases of scientific research Discovery End point is a testable conjecture Methods are not set Justification End point is an objective judgment on the truth value of the propositional form of the hypothesis. Methods are strict for valid justification 32

33 6. Modes of scientific advance What/who is the arbiter?: up down Authority Reason Nature through observation 33

34 6. Modes of scientific advance Controlling the pace Incrementally Discovery based on induction Justification based on confirmation/corroboration Speeded up conjectures and refutations, guessing and testing, e.g., Feynman s -- gc 3 34

35 Takeaways: 1. To be in science you must become comfortable in the C (construct) field. 35

36 Takeaways: 1. To be in science you must become comfortable in the C (construct) field. 2. Scientific research has a method that should/must be followed -- more or less. 36

37 Takeaways: 1. To be in science you must become comfortable in the C field. 2. Scientific research has a method that should/must be followed -- more or less. 3. The two types of research substantive & procedural have different goals. Substantive -> Question difficulty + Answer generality Procedural -> Efficient & Effective. 37

38 Takeaways: 1. To be in science you must become comfortable in the C field. 2. Scientific research has a method that should/must be followed more or less. 3. The two types of research substantive & procedural have different goals. Substantive -> Question difficulty + Answer generality. Procedural -> Efficient & Effective. 4. Some research strategies / tactics lead to more rapid advance than others. Learn what they are and how to apply them. 38

39 5. Understand the difference between Discovery research and Justification research, and which type you are doing. 39

40 Thank you! 40